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Lawsuit: Gold Hill property owner refused to rent to same-sex couple

Defendant says noise was issue, not sexuality

By Charlie Brennan

Staff Writer

Posted:
01/14/2016 12:13:16 PM MST

Updated:
01/15/2016 03:07:37 PM MST

Deepika Avanti (Courtesy photo)

When Rachel and Tonya Smith needed to move from their home in the Erie area last year and found an attractive rental listing in Gold Hill, the lesbian parents of two young children were focused on its affordability.

They say they didn't expect that discrimination based on their family status — Rachel is also transgender — would hinder their candidacy as tenants in what is perceived as a liberal Boulder County mountain enclave.

But they filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver on Thursday alleging that property owner Deepika Avanti rejected them in April as renters at 698 Dixon Road in Gold Hill because their "uniqueness" would jeopardize her position in the community.

In doing so, the suit alleges, Avanti was in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

Avanti denied the couple's allegations Thursday, insisting she turned the family down because they would have been "way too noisy."

The Smiths' suit seeks a range of remedies, including that Avanti complete fair housing training to prevent the recurrence of her alleged discriminatory housing practices, and also compensatory and punitive damages.

"We just thought it was a little bit ridiculous, particularly given that Boulder is known for being a more liberal, open-minded area," said Rachel Smith, 28. "Honestly, if this was going to happen in Colorado, I would expect it maybe in Colorado Springs, but not so much out of Boulder, and especially not in Gold Hill. I thought it was more accepting."

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Rachel Smith, who works in a state government call center, was formerly Joseph Smith, and started identifying as a woman about two years ago. Her married partner, Tonya Smith, 30, is a freelance writer. They now live in Aurora with their two children, aged 6 and 2.

Rachel Smith said that although Avanti's alleged actions were "ridiculous," to her it's really no joke.

"It was so much more upsetting, because we had been homeless previously," living week-to-week in a cheap short-stay Denver motel, she said. "We were concerned about having that happen again."

'Too many bodies in too small a space'

Avanti was not aware of the lawsuit against her until she was contacted by the Daily Camera on Thursday.

"I have another couple in there, and it would have been way too noisy" to rent to the Smiths, she said, citing the couple's two children, whom she termed "quite hyper."

"It had nothing to do with their sexuality or anything like that," Avanti said. "It had to do with noise levels. I live at that house. It would have been too noisy for me. I am one of the housemates there.

"It was just too many bodies in too small a space."

Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, New York-based staff attorney for Lambda Legal, which is representing the Smiths in coordination with pro bono assistance from the law firm of Holland & Hart in Denver, said rejecting the Smiths even on grounds of concerns about noisy kids "is not an excuse. Saying the kids are too noisy is discriminatory, based on the familial status they have."

But Gonzalez-Pagan said that emails the couple received after looking at both a two-bedroom apartment renting for $1,100 and a three-bedroom residence on the same property for $1,600 a month on April 24 will show that Avanti's decision was based on concerns about more than just noise.

Tonya Smith, left, and her wife Rachel Smith play with their 2-year-old son Isaac, 2, at their home in Aurora on Thursday. The Smiths filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging a Gold Hill property owner discriminated against the couple by refusing to rent to them. (Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer)

The lawsuit references an email they allegedly received from Avanti on April 25, which stated, "Your unique relationship would become the town focus, in small towns everyone talks and gossips, all of us would be the most popular subject in town, in this way I could not be a low profile" (sic).

The same email from Avanti, according to the lawsuit, stated that she did not want to "attract the town attention, and there is no way to avoid this having the kids go to (the Gold Hill Elementary) school, and I am not sure they would not be unincluded due to your uniqueness."

Also in an email, according to the lawsuit, Avanti told the Smiths she had consulted both with her husband and with a "psychic friend" who gave her feedback about whether to accept the Smiths, and that she "has a transvestite friend herself."

Avanti's written communications with the Smiths will be a significant part of the case, said Gonzalez-Pagan, who added, "As the case moves forward we look forward to introducing her own emails."

Complaints against property for zoning issues

Avanti on Thursday was adamant that she had no issue with people's sexual preferences, and pointed out, "I'm a psychotherapist. I'm fine with that."

Her business is Holistic Health For All, and her website, bearing the message "Love Your Life & Everyone In It," shows its business address to also be 698 Dixon Road.

Boulder County Land Use Department records reflect that there have been two complaints filed relating to Avanti's property in the past seven months. A complaint was made in June that three separate units on her lot appeared to be being used as dwellings which, with a few exceptions, would be a violation of county zoning laws.

That complaint was investigated last year, but a resolution to that investigation was not available late Thursday.

And, on Jan. 7, an anonymous complaint was made to the county that one dwelling on the property had been divided into four rental units, which also would likely be a violation. That complaint has not yet been investigated, according to Richard Hackett, a communications specialist for the county Land Use department.

Avanti did not want to talk about the structures on her property when she was interviewed Thursday.

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